Published at 11th of August 2023 7:30 am

Chapter 821: Attack and Defense in Ostia

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When the Theonian army first created the ballista unit, there was only one spotter for a team of ten ballistae in a legion, and they all came from the Theonian Akademia. Their job was to accurately calculate the landing point and firing curve, which requires mathematical knowledge and the ability to compute fast. After more than a decade had passed, they could now pair a spotter for each ballista, which coincidentally shows the achievements of Theonia in their education.

At this moment, the artillerist adjusted the ballista's settings at the prompt of the spotter, pulled the spring arm, and quickly placed small stone projectiles. After safely securing the projectile in the brass ring, the artillerist pulled the lever and caused the spring arm to retract quickly. Then the powerful torque pushed the stone projectile out and whistled towards a Roman ballista that was slowly advancing.

“Ballistae! The Theonians ballistae!” The Roman soldiers pushing their ballistae shouted in panic at seeing black dots flying through the air. They tried to push their ballistae out of the way, but its heaviness made it slow to move, and the stone projectile arrived in a flash and struck the place not far from the ballistae, splattering the Roman soldiers with dirt.

Then the stunned Roman soldiers saw more black dots flying out of the city, each attacking other ballistae. Although they all missed in the end, it already made Titus watching from the rear of the formation, surprised. Beyond his imagination, the Theonians had actually left several ballistae in the small city of Ostia and placed them atop the city wall to attack their ballistae in a manner of defence he had never seen before.

While hesitating whether to withdraw the ballistae, the Theonians' second round of attack had already begun.

Only after the Theonians launched ten more stone projectiles did they finally manage to hit a Roman ballista. Although they only managed to break a part of it, a ballista was a relatively delicate piece of siege equipment. Once its balance was disrupted, it could no longer be used unless repaired. It's not that the Romans didn't try to replicate the Carthaginian ballista after acquiring it. On the contrary, they had made some progress. However, they struggled to cast the core components, such as the metal ratchets, chains, and cylinders, with the same precision as the Carthaginians. Then while they were still improving their craftsmanship, the Theonians arrived. And each time they destroyed a Carthaginian ballista, it meant one less in the Roman arsenal.

Thus Titus could only order anxiously, “Withdraw the ballista!”

While the Roman ballista troops hastily retreated, a stone projectile fired from the city managed to destroy another ballista.

As Titus watched the ballista troops retreat in confusion, he looked up at the sky that had begun to turn red by the setting sun. He then looked at the enemies in the city and quickly moved his stare at the defensive fortifications…densely packed in front of the trench, for a few moments before withdrawing his gaze and looking at the soldiers behind him.

The Roman citizens from the colony, already dressed in armour and armed, gazed at Ostia with fighting spirit in their eyes despite their exhaustion from the long march. Their desire to recapture their mother city had filled them with strength, and their fighting spirit naturally infected Titus, causing him to suppress his worries. Based on his previous contact and experience, the Theonians reinforced Ostia’s defence. However, he didn't have the time to restore his soldiers' strength and prepare them more fully for the siege, as he had to retake Ostia before the Theonian reinforcements arrived. As a result, he had to rely on the soldiers' high morale and large numbers.

“Tell the troops to prepare for the attack!” Titus said deeply.

The heralds rode through the army rank, the officers called out to their men to get ready, and the soldiers rose to their feet, carrying their pre-made ladders and javelins from the accompanying wagons as previously discussed.

After a moment of commotion and clamour, the bugle finally sounded, prompting the Roman army to roar loudly. Then, under the leadership of the centurions, the soldiers began to march towards the east and south of the city of Ostia with great strides. (The sea to the west, the Tiber to the north and the lakes and marshes as a barrier to its southeast).

As Theris watched the enemy army rushing in like a tide towards the city, he instinctively tightened his fists.

When the three hundred Theonian archers atop the city wall saw the enemy was about to enter the hundred-metre range, they began pulling their bows.

Meanwhile, the ballistae and gastraphetes atop the city wall began firing stone projectiles and iron stakes at the enemy below. Despite the swarm of enemies making their attacks hit hard and the death toll horrific, a round of attacks with only a dozen casualties was like a small splash against the wave of thousands of Roman soldiers forming the siege and failed to stop the Roman advance.

But not long after, the Roman soldiers rushing at the forefront let out screams after another, “Ah! Help me! My foot! Something pierced my foot!”

“Be careful of the trap! There are spikes buried in the ground!!”

.............

With the screams and cries of the Roman soldiers, the speed of the entire army was hindered.

While some Roman soldiers went to help their bloodied comrades and others carefully scouted the ground and moved forward cautiously, the arrows fired from atop the city wall continued to fall like raindrops. Despite most Romans being heavy infantry, the traps at their feet forced them to panic and prevented them from using shields to defend themselves, thus increasing the casualties.

What is worse is that since they got stuck in the trap zone, the ballistae and gastraphetes had enough time to unleash their destructive power.

Titus became anxious when he saw the war situation and realised that he had underestimated the Theonians' defence of a small city.

He took a deep breath and calmed himself, “Quickly send orders to the attacking troops not to rush forward. Instead, use all their strength to pull out those traps first!”

After the herald galloped away, another scout soon came, “General Titus, the people from Ardea have arrived!”

Titus felt thrilled, but when he was about to say something, another scout arrived, “Reporting to General Titus, the people of Antium are coming!”

While Titus led his army to the west, Camillus sent envoys to inform Rome's colonial cities and Latin allies in the west of Latium, hoping they could send soldiers to help the army attack Ostia. Now, these places have responded to Camillus' request.

Then a convoy from the towns in the west carrying supplies slowly gathered behind the Roman army…

Titus' face brightened as he began expressing his gratitude to the leaders of these groups and sent his capable men to organise hundreds of people to light fires around them and build camps and tents to prepare for a long battle.

.............

Theris, standing from the east gate tower of Ostia, watched the archers and ballistae attack the approaching Roman soldiers near the trench without interruption while other soldiers began throwing their javelins.

The city of Ostia had two gates: one on the east and one on the south. Theris had earlier ordered blocking the south gate, leaving only the east gate open for the scouts and heralds to pass through. Additionally, traps had been set outside the east gate, effectively narrowing the road. As a result, the Roman soldiers were forced to form their attacking teams in narrow lines, making them vulnerable to concentrated counterattacks from the defenders inside the city. This resulted in wounded soldiers filling up the trenches.

Despite such a result, Theris wasn't excited as he saw the bonfires burning behind the enemy lines and the Romans who kept arriving, making him realise that the siege battle would get a lot more challenging. So the first order that came to his mind was: Have the reserves below the city completely block the eastern gate with wood and stones as well.

.............

In Rome, there was a stark contrast between the Roman plebeians who were eager to apply for Theonian citizenship in the Roman Forum and the Roman nobles who cried out in the surrounding area due to their loved ones being taken away. As a result, the entire city's population was agitated between the two extremes…

Davos decided to return to the Roman Senate and hoped for a moment of peace. But to his surprise, the praetor of Rome, Asistes, hurriedly arrived again.

“Your Majesty! After you had gone to pray to those Roman temples, the number of Romans coming to the Roman Forum to sign up has increased dramatically, and the number of registered people is now over a thousand!” Asistes excitedly reported the excellent news to Davos since this meant that there had been a further change in the attitude of the Roman plebeians towards Theonia.

Davos smiled and replied, “I saw it when passing by the Roman Forum. Isn't that a good thing, though?!”

“Your Majesty, but there's one thing I have to ask of you,” Asistes continued, “Some Romans told me that their loved ones were among the Roman army outside the city, and they hope their loved ones become citizens of Theonia instead of fighting with us. Thus they inquired if they could go out of the city to persuade them.”

“Oh?…” Davos became interested. While rubbing his jaw and thinking for a while, he turned his head and asked, “Croto, what do you think?”

Crotokatax, who was just standing beside him, then replied with seriousness, “Father, based on the things that happened in the Roman Forum over the past two days, we should believe what they say and allow them to go out of the city to persuade their loved ones to join the kingdom. Not only would this shake the enemy's morale and weaken them, but it would also strengthen us! Even if some of them had deceived us and just wanted to escape from the city, they were all elderly, women and children. Thus, in general, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages…”

Asistes glanced at Crotokatax, recalling the numerous occasions he had visited Davos' house in Thurii. During those visits, he had the opportunity to encounter the king's eldest son occasionally. A favourable impression of him formed because Crotokatax's modesty, politeness, and friendliness had left a lasting mark on him. However, Asistes noticed a significant change in his demeanour on this particular occasion.

Davos nodded and said approvingly, “Croto is right. Thus I will allow them to leave the city, but not all of them. Only the elders in a family can leave, while the women and children must stay in the city… Also, I'll take this opportunity to send the gifts I promised to Camillus.”

After saying that, a mysterious smile appeared on his face.

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